


New Light

by thejollymilano



Category: IT (2017)
Genre: Don't copy to another site, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Losers Club (IT) Friendship, The Losers Club, ben finding friends through the losers club, benverly - Freeform, hanslon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-03-30 23:40:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19037893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thejollymilano/pseuds/thejollymilano
Summary: Maybe being the new kid isn’t so bad || Ben’s perspective of some of the events of It. When the group splits off after their fight, Ben finds himself getting closer to another outsider in the group





	New Light

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for taking the time to read this! this is my first "it" fanfiction, but i love the losers club so much!  
> a special thank you to my good friend @kxbooms for being there for me no matter what - whether it be supporting my writing, sending me hilarious memes when i need a good laugh or venting! find yourself a friend like her 💛

When Ben Hanscom first moved to Derry, he was nearly jumping with excitement and relief. He was badly bullied at his old school, and saw this change as a way to start fresh. He was hopeful in the dream of finding better friends, friends who would have his back, and he was more than a little impatient to explore this new town. 

As he started school after he and his mom settled into their new home, Ben still walked with his chin up in hopes he could make a new friend. The last few days of moving in were long and frankly boring - none of the kids in his neighborhood had wanted to ride their bikes with him, so he spent his time helping his mom unpack their boxes and then spent his evenings reading his books. The kids at school seemed to not want to hang out with him either, and soon he was known purely as “the new kid.” Still, that beat what the Bowers gang calls him. Every day, once they were done tormenting some other kids that call themselves the “losers club,” they went after him. Ben gained a new habit of checking over his shoulder on his way home from school and looking around the corners of the hallway to avoid Henry Bowers and his goons. Eventually, Ben stopped walking with his chin up.

Things started looking brighter when goodness, light and kindness ran into him in the shape of Beverly Marsh. They bumped into each other in the doorway of their Soc class, both of them not paying attention and tried to walk in at the same time. She laughed nervously and flashed him a smile that had Ben rooted to his spot, saying a quick apology as Ben stood aside and let her walk through. It was all Ben could do to smile back and mumble a quick reply before he fell head over heels. After that, Ben couldn’t help but glance her way every time she raised her hand to answer a question or every time the teacher her out, and every time she laughed he found himself stifling back a laugh too because good gosh, it was contagious. Despite the gross, terrible rumors that floated around the school that so many people seemed to believe, Ben didn’t believe a word of it; all it took was one glance at Beverly to know she was a good person. 

The last few weeks of school sneaked up on them rather quickly and before they knew it, summer vacation was just a couple days away. And still, Ben had no friends - no real ones, at least. There was that kid in his math class that he asked to borrow a pencil from one time, and they made awkward small talk every now and then, and there was someone who also sat in the library during lunch but they didn’t talk much. Ben started to wonder if the summer was going to be like when he first moved to Derry: in isolation, his only pass-times riding his bike or going to the library. It wasn’t until the very last day of school that Ben knew this summer was going to be different. 

When Beverly Marsh had bumped into him once again while he was juggling a project and his bike, Ben was turned into a nervous wreck once again. He fumbled over his words as she warned him about Henry and his goons, as she smiled brighter than the sun when she found out he was listening to the  _New Kids on the Block,_ but it wasn’t until she had signed his empty yearbook that he felt a warm rush of emotion but it was more than just his growing affection for her, it was a sense of something he hadn’t had in a while - a friend. 

“Hang in there, new kid on the block,” She chanted over her shoulder as she walked away. 

Looking at her curly signature in his yearbook and then back at her, he gathered the courage to shout “Please don’t go, girl!” But she had already walked out of earshot, and he was let mumbling to himself. 

* * *

Despite the fact that there was a murderous clown running around the sewers and was taking the form of whatever they feared most, Ben found it ironic that it would be in the midst of this chaos that he finally found some friends. If they weren’t looking for Georgie or Betty Ripsom, they were riding their bikes around town and jumping off the cliff at the quarry. He much preferred listening to Richie trash mouthing and Eddie constantly butting heads with him, than being at home alone while his mom worked two jobs. 

As the weeks came and went, Ben got closer to Beverly, but also made long lasting friendships with others in the group, especially Mike. After finding out that Mike also has a knack for reading, they would often go to the library together when they weren’t exploring with the group. 

At this point, Ben didn’t care much whether he was going to run into Bowers or  _It,_ because if there was one good thing that would come out of this chaotic summer was that the losers club was closer than ever.  _Looking back, Ben had wished he was more prepared for what was about to happen ..._

* * *

The losers club were running away from  _It’s_ house on Neibolt, and were screaming at the tops of their lungs. After Eddie was dragged away to the hospital but his mother, they stood there rooted to the spot. Richie furiously marched back and forth, shouting at Bill, and Mike and Stan were anxiously tugging at their hair. Ben was breathing deep and trying to keep the pain at bay while his stomach bled from the deep claw marks that scratched him. They were all panicking, and Richie was letting his fear and frustration get the best of him, but it wasn’t until Bill punched Richie that Ben felt dread wash over him. He was scared of  _It,_ but he was also scared of losing these friends. He wanted to stay alive and not fight  _It,_ but that would mean their friendships would be strained.

As they went their separate ways, Ben felt himself dragging his feet. He had the sickening notation that he was going to spend the rest of his summer at home alone, or hiding in the library instead of hanging out and wandering around with his new friends. When his mother got home late that night, she was shocked to see the deep cuts on his stomach and helped him change the bandages he had placed on earlier with a worried brow. 

A week had passed, and there was no word from any of the other losers except for Mike, who he had kept in contact with. Three days after their fight, Mike bumped into him at the library and they both quickly forgot about the group’s tension and were just happy to see a friend again. Throughout the next few days, Ben spent a lot of time with Mike. Ben would exchange books with Mike (who would then show Ben the movie adaptations when they went over to his place), and they would ride their bikes together, and Mike even took Ben to his family’s farm and gave him a tour. They ended up spending the rest of their day along the creek by his farm, enjoying the warm sun hitting their faces as they dipped their feet in the cool water. 

Ben was sitting on the grass, kicking his feet in the grass when he heard Mike, who was standing in the shallow water, sigh. Ben looked up at him curiously and Mike shrugged.

“I miss the others,” He said, splashing the water nervously. “I’m happy you and I’ve been hanging out a lot lately, but I’m worried about the others.”

“Me too,” Ben admits and Mike sat down beside him, their jeans rolled up to their knees while their feet continued to splash around in the creek. “You don’t think ...  _It’s_ done anything, do you?” He asked hesitantly.

“I dunno,” Mike shook his head, his brow furrowed anxiously. “I hope not. You guys are the only friends I really have.”

“You’re not the only outsider, you know,” Ben elbowed him playfully, a small empathetic smile on his lips. “I’ve been in this town for over five months already but I didn’t make any friends at school ... But then Beverly was there, and then next thing I knew all of you were there. And then we got in that fight and now you’re all I’ve got.”

Mike nodded understandingly, a sad smile tugging on the corners of his lips as well. “Being home schooled isn’t all that bad and I know my Grandpa just wants the best for me, but ... It gets lonely. I think he sees my dad in me, but I’m  _not_ my dad, so there’s always this  _drift_ between us, y’know? And it’s not like there’s any kids my age around out here, so I don’t really have any friends except for you and the others. I miss ‘em,” He sighed. “Do you think we should check up on them? Make sure ...  _It_ hasn’t got to them?”

“Probably,” Ben agreed. “It’s getting late, so I should head back before my mom gets home. Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” Mike echoed, nodding his head in agreement. Tomorrow they would gather up the courage to break the tension between everyone to be good friends and make sure they were all doing alright. Ben and Mike dried off their feet on the grass, and Ben picked up his bike that was leaning against a tree. They said goodbyes and Ben thanked him for having him over before turning around, but before he took another step, Mike called out, “Hey, Ben?”

“Yeah?” He stopped and turned around again to face Mike, who was shuffling on his feet. He lifted his head to reveal a kind, welcoming smile.

“I’m glad we became friends.”

Ben felt the same warm rush he felt when Beverly had signed his yearbook, and he felt his fondness for Mike grow.

“So am I.”

* * *

For four months, Ben Hanscom was alone and left to his own devices. He went to a school where he had no friends and was being constantly bullied, and then went to a home where he had a mom who loved him but she was a single parent and had to work two jobs to support them, which meant she was never home. He nearly gave up on the idea of having friends who would care about him, until he met the losers. He never thought he would have a small group of people who wanted to be there for him, let alone that he would fight a kid-killing clown of nightmares with them, but there they were at the bottom of the well house. At this point, nothing was impossible. 

They faced their fears together, they overpowered an evil demon together - sure, they fight and disagree from time to time, but at the end of the day they would always have each others back. After all, losers have to stick together. 

“ _Fear,” It_ had mumbled ominously before falling into darkness, and for the first time in weeks, despite the floating corpses of dead children slowly falling down, Ben felt relieved. They  _won!_

Panting loudly as the rush of adrenaline from the fight wore off, Ben looked around to see how his friends were holding up. He felt relieved seeing Mike, Beverly, Stan, Richie and Eddie alright - a little battered and bruised, but would be just fine.  _They were going to be okay._ But where was Bill?

He called out Bill’s name softly when they saw him crouching over something by  _It’s_ collection of trinkets. As he walked closer, he saw it was a yellow rain jacket. With a cold shiver running down his spine, he realized it must have been Georgie’s because Bill was now quivering as sobs shook his shoulders.

Richie was the first to drop to his knees and wrap his arms around his friend, followed by Beverly. Ben stood there for a moment, not knowing what to say to comfort his friend - what could possibly be said to make this okay? With a sigh, Ben felt his heart shatter for his broken friend and for all they had just went through together; he fell onto his bruised knees and joined the group hug. 

They remained in that position for quite some time, none of them wanting to break the tight embrace as they comforted Bill, who continued to weep his eyes dry. Quickly enough, they were all silently crying as they supported their friend in accepting his little brother’s death, and as they allowed themselves to finally feel relief that the fight was finally over. For now. Ben knew that  _It_ would return in twenty seven years, but for now, he would relish the feeling of embracing the losers who had quickly wormed their way into his heart. 

When they had eventually made their way back up, Bill still clutching onto Georgie’s rain jacket, Ben felt brave. He didn’t feel brave when he was being harassed by Bowers and his goons, and he sure as hell didn’t feel brave the first few times he encountered  _It,_ but after overcoming his fears with the people he cared about the most, he was washed over with a new consuming feeling of courage. 

As they stepped outside and the warm rays of the sun hit Ben’s face, he came to the decision that all of this was worth it. He never wanted to do something like this again, he never wanted to see  _It_ again and he sure hoped  _It_ really was gone for good, but if it meant he would come out with friends like these, he would do it all over again in a heart beat. 

He beamed brightly as he hugged Beverly and Mike goodbye, but was pleasantly surprised when Richie, Eddie, Stan and Bill gave him a hug as well (a “ _bro hug,”_ as Bill called it, quickly followed by him telling Richie who had his mouth open as if he was about to speak, “ _not to make it weird_ ”). 

_Maybe being the “new kid on the block” wasn’t so bad._

_**THE END.** _


End file.
